An Outlaw's Wedding
by Jazzcat
Summary: Charlie Prince gets hitched - somewhat unconventionally.


A few thin rays of golden light shot through the dark, musty church interior as the minister Doc Hodges, an older fellow with gray hairs surrounding a rapidly-balding pate, nervously fidgeted with his prayerbook and stared at the outlaw pacing back and forth before the altar. Ordinarily Doc would have made a polite mention of Charlie's failure to remove his Stetson in church, but since Charlie was also wearing his six-shooter in church, the minister wisely decided to make an exception to the rules and kept his objections to himself.

Meanwhile, Charlie Prince was wondering what kind of fool he'd become to let Sadie talk him into a church wedding. It wasn't necessarily dangerous for Charlie - his six-shooter saw to that - but God wasn't someone Charlie believed in. If there was a God, He probably didn't like outlaws very much. Nevertheless, anything to keep Sadie happy.

The unholy clanking of Charlie's spurs came to an abrupt halt, and his cold green eyes pinned Doc. "Somethin' wrong?"

"Uh... no," stammered the anxious minister.

"Then why ya starin' at me?"

Doc paled further - if that were possible - and hastily glanced around at anything and everything but Charlie. But when Charlie lifted his red eyebrows in subtle warning, the shaky minister explained hastily, "It's just that we uh... we don't marry very many people... like you."

Charlie's wry smile of amusement was hardly comforting. "I thought you'd be anxious to bring lost sheep into the fold," was the outlaw's ironic remark.

"Well yes... I mean... yes, but... it's just that..."

"Out with it!" Charlie was running out of patience.

Doc bobbled the prayerbook. "M-mostly they at least... dress up a little," he prevaricated lamely.

Charlie looked down at his dusty outfit as if seeing it for the first time. As usual, he wore a cream leather jacket and reddish breeches. For a long moment Charlie studied his own attire. Then, to the minister's utter surprise, Charlie's face changed.

"Oh." He fastened the top button of his leather jacket, completing two uniform rows of buttons down both sides of the jacket. Finished, Charlie stood up tall - as if for the minister's inspection. "Good?"

The startled minister could only nod, speechless in the face of such blatant unconventionality.

Charlie's expectant expression melted into a mischievous grin. "Good!"

Doc took out his handkerchief and mopped his sweat-riddled brow. He fought to keep calm, wondering in bewilderment if the wrong answer could have had disastrous consequences. Charlie Prince's deadly reputation preceded him: He shot people with very little provocation. He was a cold-blooded killer without conscience - without morals. So what was he doing getting married - in a church, no less? Was the bride willing, or under some kind of coercion? Doc wasn't fool enough to ask questions. If he kept his mouth shut, he thought as he tucked away his handkerchief, he just might keep his life.

Charlie resumed his pacing. "Damn it, what's taking her so long?"

_And in church, too,_ inwardly sighed the minister.

As if on cue, a vision in a white dress appeared in the doorway. Charlie stopped in his tracks, transfixed as if he were gazing at a brown-haired angel. Sadie stood there in swaths of silk and lace that caught the blazing sunlight and turned a blinding white. Crowns of daisies were in her hair and a luminous smile lit her blushed face. Her hands were clasped behind her back, and laughter bubbled up inside of her at Charlie's dumbstruck expression. To see the outlaw she loved staring at her with such amazement and undisguised hunger made Sadie giddy.

The minister studied the girl with a sharp glance. She didn't appear to be an unhappy bride; she was positively radiant. An awful realization struck the minister: She was probably an outlaw, just like Charlie Prince. What kind of woman would take up with a man like him? One who was equally dangerous, no doubt.

Great. Just what the world needed: Two Princes. Who were about to get married. And Doc Hodges had been chosen to perform the sacred ceremony.

The minister clutched his prayerbook for dear life and made an awkward gesture with one gnarled hand. "Let us begin," he said, his voice rather feeble.

Sadie's green eyes were twinkling with repressed mirth as she swept a glance over the empty pews. There were no guests. There were no flowers or rose petals scattered underfoot. There were no best men or bridesmaids.

There was no one at the organ to play the wedding march, either. But that didn't stop Sadie, who, with a sly tilt of her head, began to saunter down the aisle with deliberate slowness, her hips swaying gently as she hummed the familiar tune.

"Here comes the bride, all dressed in white," she sang, laughing as she teased Charlie.

Her mischievous, coquettish behavior was enough to drive Charlie crazy. He cleared his throat. "Shut up and come here," he ordered gruffly, but his red beard could not hide the evidence of his smile.

Sadie burst out laughing and broke into a run through the old church, leaping into Charlie's arms and throwing her own around his neck. Charlie caught her in a passionate kiss, which appeared to horrify the poor minister.

"Um... er... that comes at the end," he told them, right before he realized his mistake.

Charlie was busy fiercely kissing his glorious bride-to-be, and he ignored the remark at first. Then he broke the kiss and shot the older man a dangerous glare from beneath his hatbrim. Doc gripped the prayerbook tighter.

"Generally... speaking, that is," he finished with an uneasy smile.

Reluctantly Charlie released his beautiful Sadie, who seemed oblivious to the exchange. Her face was radiant, and her brilliant smile brought one out of Charlie. He kept her hands in his.

"Just get on with it," clipped Charlie, his eyes never leaving Sadie's.

Doc drew a strained breath. "Uh, right." He flipped open the prayerbook with shaking fingers until he found the appointed page. He cleared his throat and looked up to address the congregation out of habit, only to find an empty church staring back at him. No guests were there to witness the nuptials.

There was nothing for it.

"Dearly beloved," he began nervously, "we are gathered here today to-"

Another disdainful glance from Charlie cut him off. "Skip ahead to the good part, willya?"

There was a strained pause while the minister frantically shuffled pages. "Uh, do you, uh, Ch-Charlie, take er... take this woman for-"

"Yeah," Charlie snapped at him. Then he gazed at Sadie, and his voice softened as he added, "I do."

Doc turned to the bride next. "And do you, uh... Miss..." He sent a helpless glance at Sadie.

"Sadie," she supplied, directing a smile at him.

"Sadie," he repeated, somewhat relieved, "do you take this man for... for your lawful..." Charlie was glaring at him again - perhaps at the mention of the law, which Charlie continually flouted - and the minister wilted. He skimmed the rest of the traditional vow and ended prematurely, "...wedded husband?"

Sadie's gaze was infinitely tender as she looked directly into Charlie's eyes. "Yes," she answered softly, her fingertips tracing patterns along Charlie's rough, calloused palms. "I do."

Despite the uncouth nature of this strange ceremony, Doc Hodges felt himself falling under the odd charm of it all. "Do either of you have a ring?"

Charlie looked indignant. "Of course I've got a ring," he bit out in a "What kind of groom do you think I am?" tone, reaching into the pocket of his jacket and withdrawing a tiny circlet of gold. Sadie caught her breath when she saw it, her startled gaze darting to Charlie's. _How had he...?_

As if she'd spoken the question aloud, a slight smile drifted around Charlie's lips. The answer came as surely as if he told her. _I have my ways, darling._

The look of love Sadie gave him was enough to melt the heart of an outlaw, and it did. Drawing her hand close, Charlie pressed a kiss to her knuckles as he slid the beautiful ring onto her finger.

The minister's tense features softened. "By the powers vested in me," he began, but at another quick glance from Charlie, he glossed over the weighty references and was swift to conclude, "I now pronounce you man and wife. You may..."

Doc was too slow for Charlie, who had already hauled his new wife into his embrace and was kissing her with great fervor. Struggling to keep a straight face, the minister snapped his prayerbook shut and glanced heavenward as he finished, almost to himself, "...Kiss the bride." He tucked the worn book under his arm and gave the lone applause for the conclusion of the blessed event. The echoes ricocheted through the empty old church, and suddenly it seemed to Doc that he was hearing the applause of angels.

Suddenly Charlie grabbed Sadie's hand and took off running, pulling his laughing bride after him while she struggled to avoid tripping over the hem of her wedding dress. Charlie whirled around and caught her up in the middle of the aisle, capturing her lips in another ferocious kiss, which Sadie wholeheartedly returned.

Sadie was laughing when he set her on her boots again. Hand in hand, giggling like a couple of children gone mad, Charlie and Sadie raced out of the old church and into the white blaze of the afternoon sunshine, leaving Doc Hodges standing in stunned silence, clutching his prayerbook. He caught a glimpse of the couple riding away on a sorrel horse, the happy bride clinging to the outlaw's waist.

There was a thoughtful smile on the minister's lips as he settled his hat and slowly walked down the aisle, his prayerbook tucked close. When he reached the doors, he stopped and looked back. Something felt different. Dust particles danced in the shafts of golden sunlight streaming from the windows of the empty church.

That ordinary building, for one moment, had become heaven. He had been in the presence of a miracle.

An odd smile crossed the old man's features. "Now that," he muttered wryly, "was a wedding."

*****

**YES**

**Drama**

_**Does It Really Happen?**_

_That's what you say,_

_Does it really happen to you?_

_Does that explain,_

_This is the season for this display._

_To take a look_

_In time to move together;_

_Time is the measure, before it's begun_

_Slips away like running water_

_Live for the pleasure, live by the gun_

_Heritage for son and daughter_

_Down to the slaughter, up for the fun,_

_Up for anything._

_Could this be true?_

_Does it ever happen to you?_

_And can you prove_

_That wheels go 'round in reason?_

_You take a step_

_In time_

_To move together;_

_Time is the measure, before it's begun_

_Slips away like running water_

_Live for the pleasure, live by the gun_

_Heritage for son and daughter,_

_Down to the slaughter, up for the fun,_

_Up for anything._

_You walk the way_

_You take the path_

_To be assured;_

_You draw a graph,_

_The scale you use_

_Is all on black;_

_Be brave, the weight_

_Will make the heat;_

_There is no way_

_To take it back._

*****

_**Author's note:**__ I have to give credit to __**Mad Furry Cheshire Cat**__ for this idea, as a discussion we had revolving around her characters inspired this unconventional – and disjointed – scene. Check out her fanfic __**"Lady Prince" **__under the 3:10 to Yuma section of FFN._


End file.
